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Flake bill links DACA fix with money for Trump border wall

DACA recipients and their families say the program allowed them to attend school, work full-time and become parents. These are some of their stories. Nick Oza/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

DACA recipients and their families say the program allowed them to attend school, work full-time and become parents. These are some of their stories.
Nick Oza/The Republic

Ellie Perez, seen here in 2014, is an aide to Phoenix Councilwoman Kate Gallego. With DACA status, she was able to attend full-time, get an associate’s degreeand become the first person in her family to attenda four-year university. The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Ellie Perez, seen here in 2014, is an aide to Phoenix Councilwoman Kate Gallego. With DACA status, she was able to attend full-time, get an associate’s degreeand become the first person in her family to attenda four-year university.
The Republic

Reyna Montoya, 26, came to the U.S. at age 13. She founded Aliento, which advocates for young migrant children, in 2016. DACA gave Montoya the chance to earn an education, she said. Dianna M. Náñez/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Reyna Montoya, 26, came to the U.S. at age 13. She founded Aliento, which advocates for young migrant children, in 2016. DACA gave Montoya the chance to earn an education, she said.
Dianna M. Náñez/The Republic

Thomas Kim, 25, came to the U.S. with his family legally 12 years ago from South Korea. An unscrupulous immigration attorney botched their case, he said. Kim is finishing his last year of law school and works at a public defender's office in Phoenix. Nick Oza/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Thomas Kim, 25, came to the U.S. with his family legally 12 years ago from South Korea. An unscrupulous immigration attorney botched their case, he said. Kim is finishing his last year of law school and works at a public defender's office in Phoenix.
Nick Oza/The Republic

Francisco Luna, an advocate with the organization Trans Queer Pueblo, came to the U.S. when he was 11. DACA allowed him to work, buy a car and help take care of his relatives. He said he has filed and paid taxes for several years now. Dianna M. Náñez/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Francisco Luna, an advocate with the organization Trans Queer Pueblo, came to the U.S. when he was 11. DACA allowed him to work, buy a car and help take care of his relatives. He said he has filed and paid taxes for several years now.
Dianna M. Náñez/The Republic

Julio Zuñiga, 27, was 5 when he came from Mexico to Arizona with his parents in 1996. DACA allowed Zuñigato begin working as a mortgage loan officer, and he has paid more than $10,000 in taxes over the course of his career, he said. Laura Gómez/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Julio Zuñiga, 27, was 5 when he came from Mexico to Arizona with his parents in 1996. DACA allowed Zuñigato begin working as a mortgage loan officer, and he has paid more than $10,000 in taxes over the course of his career, he said.
Laura Gómez/The Republic

Immigration attorney Daniel Rodriguez, 31, had DACA status until he became a legal resident in 2015. He said he had started law school in 2008 but had to take a break from 2009-2012 because he couldn’t afford out-of-state tuition. Maria Polletta/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Immigration attorney Daniel Rodriguez, 31, had DACA status until he became a legal resident in 2015. He said he had started law school in 2008 but had to take a break from 2009-2012 because he couldn’t afford out-of-state tuition.
Maria Polletta/The Republic

Carla Chavarria, 24, has DACA status until November and is waiting to see if her application for renewal has been approved. DACA allowed Chavarria to start her own digital-marketing business. She also launched activewear line Ganaz with fellow dreamer Máxima Guerrero last year. Cheryl Evans/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Carla Chavarria, 24, has DACA status until November and is waiting to see if her application for renewal has been approved. DACA allowed Chavarria to start her own digital-marketing business. She also launched activewear line Ganaz with fellow dreamer Máxima Guerrero last year.
Cheryl Evans/The Republic

Abril Gallardo, 27, came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 12. DACA provided an opportunity to work and go to college, she said. David Kadlubowski/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Abril Gallardo, 27, came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 12. DACA provided an opportunity to work and go to college, she said.
David Kadlubowski/The Republic

Maria Cruz Ramirez, who does not have legal status, is the mother of three DACA recipients. She said her son recently bought a home. Without DACA, it's uncertain whether he'll be able to keep it, she said. Laura Gómez/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Maria Cruz Ramirez, who does not have legal status, is the mother of three DACA recipients. She said her son recently bought a home. Without DACA, it's uncertain whether he'll be able to keep it, she said.
Laura Gómez/The Republic

Isabel O'Neal (right) is the mother of prominent DACA activist Belen Sisa. DACA allowed her daughter, who wants to become a lawyer, to enroll at ASU. Nick Oza/The Republic

What DACA means to recipients, their families

Isabel O'Neal (right) is the mother of prominent DACA activist Belen Sisa. DACA allowed her daughter, who wants to become a lawyer, to enroll at ASU.
Nick Oza/The Republic

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U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake introduced legislation Thursday that would provide a pathway to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants known as "dreamers," while funding border security including what critics say is a "down payment" on President Donald Trump's border wall.

Flake's bill is the latest in a string of legislative efforts being considered in both chambers of Congress to address the predicament of dreamers.

Flake said his is the "best chance" at a permanent solution for young immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children, including the approximately 800,000 approved for temporary deportation deferments and work permits through former President Barack Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DACA.

“The president wants to protect the dreamers. So do I.”

Sen. Jeff Flake

The move to give DACA recipients a pathway to citizenship has gained renewed support in both parties since the Trump administration announced last month that it would do away with the protections by early March.

Despite his contentious relationship with Trump, Flake, who's up for re-election next year, has aligned himself with the president with his proposal.

"The president wants to protect the dreamers. So do I. Most of the people in the Congress do," Flake said. "Some would rather say they’re just subject to deportation. So you have to make some trade-offs, and I think that's what will be done here."

Anticipating opposition from some of his fellow Republicans to a bill that only gives dreamers legal status, Flake added a few "trade-offs," including funding for additional fencing and access roads at the U.S.-Mexico border, and stronger immigration enforcement beyond the border.

“I think the legislation that we’ve introduced today has the best shot of hitting the sweet spot, in between protecting the DACA kids and also providing border security,” Flake said.

However, the measure was met with immediate opposition from dreamers. Groups such as the Arizona Dream Act Coalition have pushed for a "clean" bill, granting them legal status but without anything else attached.

"We don’t want our families to be terrorized," said Karina Ruiz, the group's executive director. She's a DACA recipient who renewed it this year. Her permit expires in January 2019.

"There is already a wall, there is already a fence. There are better uses of that money, such as Puerto Rico," she said. "They’re trying to give that money to construction companies instead of helping American citizens. To us, it is a waste of money and resources because it’s not going to make that much of an impact."

What the bill does

Flake's Border Security and Deferred Action Recipient Relief Act pieces together four proposals in a single bill. Some of the proposals mirror legislation that's already been passed or introduced in the House.

It would grant undocumented youth provisional status that allows them to get a green card after a 10-year period. It would only apply to immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. before 2012. "That was when DACA went into effect. And so this does not allow people brought in later to take advantage of the program," Flake said.

The bill includes the $1.6 billion the Trump administration requested, and House Republicans approved, to build additional border fences in south Texas and San Diego. Democrats, who largely opposed that House measure, criticized it as the start of Trump's push to fortify the southwest U.S. border.

The bill makes it easier for immigration officials to deport immigrants suspected of involvement in gangs, mirroring a measure that passed the House mostly along party lines. Flake also added language that would target suspected cartel members.

The bill would also authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection to build more access roads to help patrol remote areas along the border, and to work with local governments to maintain roads that border agents frequently use.

There are at least four other bills in Congress that deal with dreamers: the Dream Act, which Flake also supports; the Recognizing America's Children's Act, which Flake's legislation is based on; the American Hope Act; and the SUCCEED Act.

Democrats largely support the Dream Act, while Republicans proposed the SUCCEED Act, which has a longer path to citizenship and calls for reducing overall immigration by limiting immigrants' ability to sponsor family members for green cards.

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Berania Yanez, 16, shouts from a megaphone to other students from North High School protesting outside ICE headquarters, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, after leaving campus at lunchtime to make their feelings known about the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from North High School head West on Virigina at 8th St. in Phoenix, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, on their way to ICE headquarters to protest the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from North High School head West on Virigina at 8th St. in Phoenix, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, on their way to ICE headquarters to protest the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from North High School south on Central Ave. toward ICE headquarters in Phoenix, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, to protest the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from North High School head West on Virigina at 8th St. in Phoenix, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, on their way to ICE headquarters to protest the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from North High School protest outside ICE headquarters, Tuesday, September 5, 2017, after leaving campus at lunchtime to make their feelings known about the decision by President Donald Trump to cancel the DACA program in six months if Congress doesn’t fix the problem. Tom Tingle/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Phoenix police keep watch over students from South Mountain High School who walked out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. The students were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Quinton Reed, a junior at South Mountain High Scool, marches out of class with other students in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Quinton Reed, a junior at South Mountain High School, marches out of class with other students in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Phoenix police use a vehicle to block the front door at the South Mountain Precinct as students from South Mountain High School walk out of class in Phoenix Sept. 5, 2017. They were protesting the elimination of the program Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Michael Chow/The Republic

Students make silk-screened posters outside Phoenix Police Department's South Mountain Precinct. They had participated in a walkout from South Mountain High School in response to the announcement of DACA's undoing on Sept. 5, 2017. Robert Gundran/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

DACA recipients and supporters at UFCW Local 99 in Phoenix on Sept. 5, 2017, react as they listen to Attorney General Jeff Sessions' announcement of the end the nation's DACA program. Nick Oza/The Republic

Rabbi Shmuly Yankowitz joins other Valley faith leaders at a vigil for "dreamers" and their supporters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 4, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Petra Falcon, executive director of Promise Arizona, joins other Valley faith leaders at a vigil for "dreamers" and their supporters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 4, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Rabbi Shmuly Yankowitz, along with other Valley faith leaders, host a vigil for "dreamers" and their supporters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 4, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

Llandel Polanco, 8, stands with his grandma Reyna Polanco and Valley faith leaders at a vigil for "dreamers" and their supporters at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Phoenix on Sept. 4, 2017. Nick Oza/The Republic

A non-starter?

Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice, an immigration-advocacy group, said Flake’s bill is unlikely to gain needed support from across the aisle.

Democrats have indicated they might be open to a compromise that includes increased border-security spending — though not a wall — in exchange for GOP support of a legalization program for dreamers. They will not support legislation that also calls for increased interior enforcement, Sharry said.

“We don't need another bill to be able to cloud the field. What we need is for him to champion the Dream Act.”

Greisa Martinez, United We Dream

He added that immigrant advocates view those measures as an attempt by Republicans “to get us on a slippery slope” that ultimately results in dreamers being protected while their parents become more vulnerable to deportation.

“We think very highly of Senator Flake. He has been principled and courageous on immigration and arguably risks his political career when he does so,” Sharry said. But the interior-enforcement measures in his bill “are a non-starter.”

“The bottom line is: Democrats, under pressure from the pro-immigrant movement, are not going to support something that is going to make it easier to deport members of dreamers' families,” Sharry said.

Greisa Martinez, advocacy director for United We Dream and a DACA recipient, said she appreciated Flake’s attempt to find a common ground between Republicans and Democrats to pass dreamer legislation.

But her group remains committed to passing the Dream Act, which calls for an 11-year pathway to citizenship for dreamers. Flake is a co-sponsor of the Dream Act.

“We don’t need another bill to be able to cloud the field. What we need is for him to champion the Dream Act,” Martinez said. “The American public is clear. They want the Dream Act. They support immigrant young people. They support a pathway to citizenship.”

Flake said that even though previous efforts to legalize dreamers has failed, this time the calculus is different. Some 800,000 young immigrants depend on immediate action.

He insisted his bill is the best way forward, and a lot better than the alternative — doing nothing.

"You do the best you can with legislation. It’s never perfect," Flake said. "People are always left out. You just do the best you can, and that’s what we’re trying to do here.”